


with certainty

by racingshadows



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Closure, F/M, Not A Fix-It, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26948644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/racingshadows/pseuds/racingshadows
Summary: The Manor was too big and cold. Owen never had any reason to walk around, other than the times when the Wingraver siblings wanted to play hide-and-seek. He had been shown around, though. Once. With Hannah by his side.So once again, he walked around, without Hannah by his side.(Owen went to the Bly Manor one last time.)
Relationships: Owen Sharma/Hannah Grose
Comments: 20
Kudos: 80





	with certainty

The Manor was too big and cold. Owen never had any reason to walk around, other than the times when the Wingraver siblings wanted to play hide-and-seek. He had been shown around, though. Once. With Hannah by his side.

So once again, he walked around, without Hannah by his side.

The funeral was only yesterday, yet he already felt like going back to the Manor, to meet Hannah, to feel the warmth that only he could feel in the kitchen, with the sound of kids’ laughter heard around the house, Dani’s warning them, Jamie’s sarcastic comments, and Hannah’s attempt not to laugh at his (best) puns.

He took a look at every room, listened to the sound of his footsteps echoing. He did not try to remember; he only wanted to enjoy it, to notice some things he had not realized before.

He could almost hear Hannah’s voice beside him, explaining some of the things to him.

_And these are the children’s rooms. You’ll hear a lot of voices coming from here, as to be expected._

_I hope they will not come to the kitchen and make a fuss, no?_

_Oh, they certainly will._

*

The signs were all over the places; Hannah rarely touched his food and drink, she never went outside of the Manor, no matter how many times Owen had asked.

How could he not realize it?

The kettle whistled, and Owen was momentarily pulled back to reality, as he turned the stove off, took the kettle, and poured the hot water for his tea.

He brought his cup to the table, pulled a chair and sat on it. It was by then he realized a pair of hands he had known too well, resting on the table, right in front of him. He looked up, and saw the loveliest smile he had ever seen, many times.

“Hannah.” He whispered.

“My love.” She said. 

“But… how…”

“Oh, I suppose you can call it my own stubbornness that still anchors me here.” She leaned back on her seat, eyes never leaving Owen, mouth still smiling. “I have something to tell you, before you leave.”

Owen closes his eyes. “Don’t,” he whispered. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“But we will not, love, I will only say something that I have yet to say.”

“I know.” He opened his eyes and felt a wave of relief seeing her still sitting in front of him. “But it still feels like a goodbye.”

She leaned in, her face more relaxed, her smile more gentle. “Then do not think of it as a goodbye. Think of it as a promise; that we will see each other again.”

He — tried to — smile then. “We will?”

“Yes.” She answered.

“I don’t know… when I heard the story from Dani… when she explained it to me… I felt like I was dreaming and none of it was real, and I thought if I could just run here, I would see you, sitting, waiting for me.” He shook his head. “But you weren’t.”

“I am here now.”

“Only for a little while.”

She nodded. Owen wanted to reach for both of her hands.

“And I thought… maybe if you were to stay for a very, very long time, then I could just stay here as well.”

“Owen, love, no…”

“I don’t know, Hannah, I just…” He took off his glasses and rubbed his face with both of his hands, then realized his palms were wet and tears slid on his cheeks. “I… don’t know how to live in this world without you, now I’ve gotten to know you for a long time.”

“Owen, I was also… scared.” She took a shaky breath, and Owen saw her hands were slightly trembling, as she explained, “The moment I found out I was… dead, that I was living in a walking dream, I thought of you. I thought about how you would react, whether I should tell you or not. But then, you. You, in my memory, assured me.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, my love. You assured me that you would stay in my heart, and I hope, that I well get to stay in your heart, too.”

Owen wiped his face. “I really think I should’ve just stayed here, died here, so I can be with you. We didn’t have that much time together, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Hannah broke her gaze as she seemed to consider his words. When she looked at him again, she replied, “When I was younger, I had so much high hopes for people around me. But then I learned the hard way, that I could not project my own expectations on them. But you, Owen, I just want the best of you, to do what you always want to do. Leave this town, Owen, it is for the best.”

“We were supposed to go together…” He whispered. “Say it, Hannah, you and me, in Paris, together.”

Hannah sniffled, and wiped her tears. “You and me, in Paris, together.” She said. “Though I may not show up there.”

“That was better up until you added, ‘though’.”

Hannah laughed between her tears. “If you stayed here… even after I could be here… I would forget. My memories would fade away, my face would be washed up until it was not there anymore, until I could not speak to you again. I do not want you to see me like that.”

“Then I would make you remember all of it.”

Hannah chuckled as she shook her head. “We both are stubborn, are we not.” She continued, “I hope you will remember me. I love you.”

Owen did not try to hide his tears anymore; he sobbed, and sobbed, but he kept on seeing, for fear that Hannah would disappear, just like that night. “Hannah. I rarely want, or ask for anything in my life.”

Through his tears, he could see Hannah smiling. He continued, “And I love you. You, the most beautiful, loveliest thing on earth. You who always got annoyed at my attempted puns. You who always laughed at my silly puns. You who always looked at the children so fondly that I always wondered how our lives could be if only we had known each other, had started this earlier. I love you.”

He closed his eyes as he sobbed, he did not dare to open his eyes, but he could hear Hannah whispering, “Until we meet again.” He could sense her leaning in close to him, he could feel her pressing her lips on his forehead.

He cried, and cried, feeling the heaviness in his heart did not even feel any lighter. He opened his eyes and found Hannah had long gone.

*

The Manor was too big and cold. Owen took a long, last glance at the exterior of the Manor, before he turned around, and started walking toward his car. 


End file.
